A new study published in Science Advances states that the increasing planting of GMO maize and soybean crops has resulted in the increase of herbicide use in the U.S. The study looked at plot-level choices made by U.S. corn and soybean farmers from 1998 to 2011. Pesticides is a broad term that includes herbicides, which kill plants, and insecticides, which kill insects. The herbicide of choice for decades has been glyphosate, one of the components of Roundup.
The researchers found that, on average, adopters of GE glyphosate-tolerant (GT) soybeans used 28% more herbicide than nonadopters, while adopters of GE glyphosate-tolerant maize used 1.2% less herbicide. While herbicide use increased, adopters of GE insect-resistant maize used less insecticides. This pattern of change in … [Read more...]

A coalition of groups, including Food & Water Watch, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and Friends of the Earth are using the World Health Organization (WHO) to set safety standard for the herbicide glyphosate, found in RoundUp and other chemicals, that has been classified as carcinogenic.
In a letter to the WHO, the coalition raised concerns about conflicts of interest on an expert advisory panel that could review the cancer classification. Three of the eight panel members have "financial and professional ties to the chemical industry, including Monsanto, the largest producer of glyphosate," according to Food & Water Watch.
NRDC Health Program Director Erik Olson said in a statement, "The WHO is highly respected for protecting public health around the world,d and it … [Read more...]

In March, scientists organized by the World Health Organization (WHO) found that the herbicide glyphosate, which is an active ingredient in Round-Up, is "probably carcinogenic to humans." Food and Water Watch, along with the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) are calling for an end to the U.S. backed program that sprays glyphosate on coca fields in Columbia.
Adam Isaacson, senior associate for regional security policy at WOLA said, "there is now proof that the sprayings of glyphosate represent an unacceptable risk to the public. This has critical implications for a program that has been a cornerstone of U.S. drug policy in Colombia." The herbicide has been sprayed over more than 4 million acres in that country over the past 20 years.
Glyphosate was considered safe for humans … [Read more...]

A peer-reviewed study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), published in Entropy, has found that residues of glyphosate, the main ingredient in the weed killer Roundup, have been found in food. Glyphosate is used on crops that are genetically engineered (GMO foods) to be "Roundup Ready".
Monsanto scientists have claimed for years that Roundup is safe and non-toxic because it targets the shikimate pathway in plants, which is absent in animals. But this pathway is present in bacteria that live in human guts, which play an important role in human physiology, from immunity to synthesizing vitamins.
The study's authors say that glyphosate does induce disease and is a "textbook example of exogenous semiotic entropy." Glyphosate inhibits detoxification of xenobiotics and … [Read more...]